Perhaps this post is intended to solidify any notion that I’m an Apple fanboy but I had a realization last week and would like to share it with you. I wrote this post for GigaOM back in July. In it, I concluded with:
Kindle versus iPad is a dead argument. You’re both winners. No one is arguing the iPad isn’t better hardware for much more than books but that comes at a price and, even on the iPad, Kindle is just one tap away via its own app.
I still stand by this. The iPad as a device is superior to Kindle (the device) but the Kindle service is the winner over iBooks, Nook and any other 3rd party electronic book service out there. The last time I used a Kindle was back when version 1 was available and I was basing a lot of my thought on this fact. I used a Kindle 3 recently and was blown away. I won’t retract what was said before but I would like to write that geeks shouldn’t put the Kindle device into the throwaway category simply because it isn’t wrapped in aluminum and etched with an Apple logo.
The Amazon Kindle is $139, has the most books, daily newspapers, magazines, Instapaper support and has an exceptional fast drawn E-Ink screen and is the best ereader I’ve ever used.
The Kindle does not compare with Apple’s iPad. Amazon doesn’t care because you can still buy Kindle books on iPad. Apple doesn’t care about Kindle because it’s, for the most part, a single use device intended for a market of “readers”, not individuals who crave thousands of apps and all of the cost associated with those extra features. If you love reading NYTIMES, a couple of blogs and instantly buying and reading thousands of books from anywhere in the world, the Kindle is your device.
Many geeks that throw out the Kindle after realizing it doesn’t have a color touch screen often forget it is aggressively priced at $139.
When you consider the Kindle is $139 and Apple’s iPad is $499, things change quite a bit. For a person who wants to read books and subscribe to the Sunday paper, why would they pay four times as much for the privilege to do that in color?
The Kindle pretty much stole my heart for a few reasons:
- It’s size. It is truly a pocketable tablet with a physical keyboard and handy buttons to allow page turning
- The screen refreshes quickly (an improvement from previous models)
- It plays audio books
- It will read books aloud to you
- It’s low power and lasts for days on a single charge
- The book buying process is done within the “app”. Kindle for iPad, Mac & iPhone takes you to Safari to buy the book and then back to the app. This is painful.
- The screen is so easy to read. There’s no eye strain and it’s perfect for text and grayscale images
- The price makes it nearly disposable compared to the iPad. Sure, I’d never lose my Kindle but if I did, I wouldn’t cry as hard as I would losing an iPad.
- You have the daily or weekend paper on your device as soon as you wake up. It’s delivered while you sleep. Navigating the paper was effortless and well thought out. Jump to a section and hop around. Put the device down, pick it up, whatever and it’ll be right where you left off
- The matte construction makes it far easier to hold than my iPad or iPhone
- I had fun reading on it. The iPad is heavy, cumbersome, too bright or too dar, too glossy or too slow. The Kindle was fast, responsive and out of the way. It gave way to the book that was on the screen. It was a perfect reading experience from boot to the 1st page of each book
I really do feel like I was too harsh on this great little device. Also, any book I bought for my iPad Kindle app will work easily on the Kindle hardware once I login to my Amazon account. Brilliant!
I don’t think I’ll be buying one just yet but I do think the Kindle is a great piece of hardware for most any budget. It makes reading fun and accessible as long as you have a back pocket to put the device in. I’ll be recommending it much more to friends & family. What an absolute joy to use.